Multi-ply sewing rib for insoles



Feb. 22, 1966 VI A, SHERBROOK 3,235,979

MULTI-FLY SEWING RIB FOR INsoLEs Filed NOV. 17, 1964 INVENTOR I/zar JZ erroai BY @@Q United States Patent C) 3,235,979 MULTll-PLY SEWING Ri FOR INSLES Victor A. Sherbrook, Abington, Mass., assignor to Unimet Stay & Leather Company, Brockton, Mass., a corporation of Massachusetts Filed Nov. 17, 1964, Ser. No. 411,935 13 Claims. (Cl. 36-22) This is a continuation-impart of my application Serial No. 379,777, filed July l, 1964, now abandoned.

This invention pertains to footwear, more particularly to insoles of the kind commonly used in the manufacture of boots and shoes by the Goodyear welt process, and more especially concerns an insole of the kind wherein the sewing rib, to which the shoe upper and welt are secured, is a part which is attached to an insole blank for example by sewing or adhesive, said rib cooperating with the blank to provide the channel for the inseam stitches and, according to the present invention, consisting of or comprising tape-like material, for example conventional selvaged textile tape, or tape-like strips or ribbons of flexible leather or synthetic plastic-the insole of the present invention constituting an improvement upon the insole construction disclosed and claimed in my prior Patents Nos. 2,713,692, 2,752,278, 2,940,098 and 2,- 985,555.

While the insole constructions disclosed in the aforesaid patents were satisfactory for many types of footwear, and under prior shoe making practice, it was discovered that the ribs disclosed in these patents did not always have sufficient strength to resist tearing or separation from the insole blank when employed in shoes or boots having heavy upper leather or brogue-type welts, wherein heavy strain is exerted on the sewing rib during the side lasting and inseaming operations.

It has been proposed to provide an insole of the above general type comprising a multiple-ply rib which normally stands upright, at right angles to the surfaces of the insole blank, and having attaching feet extending from the base of the rib proper outwardly toward the peripheral or feather edge of the blank and inwardly away from said peripheral or feather edge, the rib proper being of uniform thickness, that is, comprising the same number of plies throughout from its base to its free edge, but such an arrangement would be impractical because a rib thus constructed, when embodied in a shoe, results in a very noticeable and uncomfortable ridge at the upper surface of the insole. As herein employed, the term feather edge is used, as a term of art, merely to designate the outer or peripheral edge of the insole blank whether reduced in thickness or not. The term outwardly as here employed means toward the peripheral edge yand the term inwardly means toward the midportion of the inner sole blank, that is to say, away from the peripheral edge.

In the art of shoe making there have been developed lately heat-setting units and methods which provide a revolutionary manner of shoe making. Shoes in the lasting room are put into conveyorized heat-setting units after they are side lasted in order automatically to shrink the leather and age it on the wood in a few minutes instead of the older way which normally takes several days of drying and shrinking. This is a very progressive step toward automation and speed-up of last turnover. However, this presents a new problem in making the sewing rib .and attaching it to the insole blank because when a shoe is being heat-set, the upper starts to shrink on the wood thus causing a strong tensioning stress on the insole rib to which the upper has been lasted and secured, for example, by staples. At the same time, due to the temperature generated by infrared lamps and other devices 3,235,979 Patented Feb. 22, 1966 ICC used to shrink and heat-set the upper leather, an insole rib of customary type, which is dependent solely on a cement bond tends, when heat-activated, to crawl in the direction of the upper leather stress which is toward the edge of the last. This often results in producing poor and irregular inseams or complete failure of the sewing ribs at inseaming. In view of this modern trend, the sewing rib of the present invention is designed to provide additional inherent strength and margin of safety, even when attached by adhesive only. However, for optimum effects, it is recommended that it be attached by stitching-employing strong thread which resists temperatures above those which reactivate the cement. This new type of rib is extremely flexible so that it is readily flattened during the shoe making procedure, although much stronger than most prior ribs of this general type.

In accordance with ancient practice, when the insole was a unitary piece of good leather, the inseam channel was an inclined marginal slit cut in the leather so that the resultant rib tapered from a thick base, where strength is required to retain the inseam stitches, to a thin, flexible, marginal lip, with the result that at the completion of the inseam, the rib was readily flattened down and in the completed shoe the upper face of the insole was substantially flat. The present invention has for an object the provision of a rib of the modern type, independent of but attached to an insole blank, but which resembles the old integral rib in being thick and strong where it receives inseam stitches, but which, like the old integral rib, tapers toward its free or upper edge so that in the completed shoe the rib lies substantially flat and the upper face of the insole is devoid of objectionable elevations in the region of the inseam. A further object is to provide an applied rib so designed as to insure ample attaching material, both adjacent to the feather margin of the blank and inwardly of the rib proper, to resist stresses tending to separate the rib from the blank, whether it be attached to the blank by adhesive or stitches. A further object is to provide a rib having the above characteristics so constructed as to minimize the amount of material necessarily employed, thus reducing cost, being so arranged as to provide a maximum number of plies of the sheet material (tape) at the place where maximum strength is required, and a lesser amount of tape at other points. For example, that portion of the sewing rib, by means of which it is secured to the insole, comprises two plies at the peripheral edge of the blank and two at its inner margin; that portion of the rib which receives the inseam stitches comprises four plies, while the free edge portion of the rib proper comprises not more than three plies and in some embodiments only two; and in certain embodiments, one or more of the several plies may, for example, be of a material which is thinner, although tougher and stronger than the plies which constitute the major portion of the rib. The extreme upper margin of the rib may constitute but two plies forming a U-fold.

In the attainment of these novel and desirable characteristics, the present invention provides an insole, here shown as comprising a simple die-cut blank, or insole proper, and an improved sewing rib, comprising tape disposed in plies arranged to define the rib proper and multiple-ply attaching feet or abutments, one extending from the base of the rib proper, outwardly toward the peripheral edge of the insole blank and the other extending from the base of the rib proper, inwardly, that is, away from the peripheral edge of the blank, characterized in that the rib proper tapers in thickness from its base toward its free or upper edge, desirably comprising at least four plies in its base where it receives the inseam stitches and having a lesser number of plies in its free edge portion. The rib proper, when attached to the insole 3 blank, normally tends to lean inwardly away from the peripheral edge of the blank, inclining yat an angle not substantially exceeding to the surface of the insole blank and being so flexible that it is easily depressible into substantial parallelism to the surface of the insole blank in response to customary shoe making operations.

More specifically, the novel insole, according to the present invention, is `so devised that the base portion of the rib which receives the inseam stitches, includes at least four plies of material, 4two of said plies being at least partially exposed and constituting the inner and outer walls of the rib proper and normally inclining, at an angle vof the order of 10, upwardly and away from the peripheral edge of the blank, said two exposed inclined plies being so united as to define the upper or free edge of the rib properthe rib also comprisin-g at least one reinforcing element of flexible material, said reinforcing element including a ply which is interposed between the aforesaid two exposed plies of the tape at that.

portion, at least, of the rib which receives the inseam stitches, said ply of reinforcing material being integrally joined, at a fold, to an anchorage portion of the reinforce material which extends inwardly away from the peripheral edge of the insole; is substantially parallel to the upper surface of the insole blank; and is permanently secured to the latter. Each of the aforesaid exposed plies, respectively, of the tape is integrally joined, at a fold, to a corresponding, anchorage portion, the anchorage portion of the inner of said exposed plies overlying the inwardly extending anchorage portion of the aforesaid reinforcing ply and together with the latter yconstituting an inner foot or abutment secured to the body of the insole blank. The anchorage portion of the buter of the aforesaid exposed plies of tape extends outwardly toward the peripheral edge of the insole. element is so assembled with said outwardly extending anchorage ply as to constitute, with the latter, a multiply outer foot, or abutment, and means, for example stitches or adhesive, permanently ysecuring said latter foot or abutment to the body of the insole blank.

As thus devised, the wide, two-ply inner attaching foot or abutment resists the outward pull exerted by the lasted upper, while the two-ply outer attaching foot or abutment, adjacent to the peripheral edge of the insole, resists the inward push exerted by the wipers in side lasting.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will be pointed out hereinafter in the following more detailed description and by reference to the accompanying drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 is a fragmentary vertical section through the novel sewing rib and the insole `blank showing one desirable embodiment of the invention;

FIGS. 2 to 7, inclusive, are generally similar views but illustrating modifications; and

FIG. 8 is a fragmentary section showing the rib of FIG. 1 incorporated in a shoe.

Referring to the drawings and, in particular, to FIG. 1, the rib proper (that is to say, that part through which the inseam stitches pass) is shown as comprising a single length of tape folded at to form a U-bend which defines the `upper or free edge of the rib proper, the edge portion comprising but two plies. The rib proper comprises the outer ply 21 and the inner ply 22, the lply 22 being folded at 23 to provide the horizontal upper element 24 of the inner foot, anchorage member or abutment The element 24 overlies a reinforce ply 2S of any appropriate material, for example textile fabric or plastic tape, which is folded at 260 thereby to define an upper reinforce element 26 which is interposed between the outer and inner plies 21 and 22, respectively, of the rib proper. It Will Ibe noted that the upper reinforce element or ply 26 terminates `at 27, short of the `U-fold at 20 which defines the extreme upper or free edge of the rib, as above noted, so that the marginal portion of the rib proper comprises but two plies. The inner ply 22 of the A second reinforcing rib proper which overlies the reinforce element 24. extends beyond the inner edge of the lower reinforce element, and terminates as shown at 28, `so that its free marginal portion contacts and may be secured, as by adhesive, directly to the insole blank B. The outer ply 21 of the rib proper is extended, as shown at 29, and so folded, at 30, as to constitute the two-plyy outer foot, attaching member, abutment which overlies the peripheral margin of the insole blank B, said foot `comprising the upper and lower plies 31 and 32-the latter contacting and being bonded, as by adhesive to the insole 'blank land having an extension 33 which is interposed between the upper reinyforce element 26 and the extension 29 of the outer ply 21 of the rib proper.

It will be understood that wherever plies are juxtaposed and in contact they will be bonded together by an adhesive (not shown) desira'bly of a kind which does not lose its grip when subjected to the temperature of heatsetting. Likewise, wherever any of the plies directly contacts the insole blank B, it will be similarly bonded to the blank. Of course, it will be understood that, if desired, either or both of the two-ply attaching members may be secured to the insole blank by stitches for example as shown at D as well as or in lieu of adhesive With this construction and because of `the natural resiliency of the tape material employed, the folding and union of the sewing rib to the blank develops a tendency of the rib proper to incline upwardly and away from the peripheral edge of the insole blank at a small angle, for example approximately 10, thus defining the sewing channel C between the plies 22 and 24. The rib proper tapers in thickness from it-s base portion at the inner end of the channel C and where it receives the inseam stitches and Where it comprises four plies, to an intermediate portion where it comprises but the three plies 22, 26 and 21, and then to its free or upper edge portion where it comprises but the two plies 21 and 22. The rib is thus very strong at the place where it receives the inseam stitches, but on the vother hand it is very exible because of its tapering thickness, so that when incorporated in a shoe it lies so flat that its presence is scarcely noticeable, since it causes no substantial elevation of the upper surface of the insole.

FIG. 2 illustrates a construction, slightly modified as compared with that of FIG. 1, differing from the latter specifically in that the entire sewing rib consists of but a single length of tape, a portion of which serves as the re1nforcing means, instead of employing a sperate piece of material as in FIG. 1, Thus, in FIG. 2, where corresponding parts are indicated by the same reference numerals but with the superscript a, the substantial difference between the arrangement between that of FIG. 2 and that of FIG. l is found in the fact that the ply 24a, mstead of terminating in a free edge, such as at 28 in FIG. 1, is folded at 28a to provide Ithe lower reinforce ply 25a whlch cooperates with the ply 24a to form an inner foot or attaching member. The same piece of tape is again folded at 260a to provide the upper reinforcing ply 26a. As in the arrangement of FIG. 1, the outer ply 21a of the rib proper, extends downwardly as shown at 29a and 1s folded at 30a to rprovide the upper and lower plies 31a and 32a of an outer attaching foot, Iand also the reinforce member 33a, interposed between the extension 29a and the reinforce ply 26a.

FIG. 2a illustrates an arrangement substantially identical with that of FIG. 2 except that the part 33b, which corresponds to the rein-forcing element 33a of FIG. 2, 1s exposed at the outside of the outer ply 2lb of the rib proper instead of being interposed between the latter ply and the reinforce ply 26b.

In FIG. 3 a further modification is illustrated wherein parts corresponding in function to those of FIG. 1 are designated by the same numerals but with the superscript c. Thus, the outer ply of the rib proper is designated 21e and the inner ply as 22e, the material forming the inner ply being folded at 23C to dene the upper ply 24e of a two-ply inner foot or attaching member which extends inwardly away from the peripheral edge F of the insole blank-the ply 24C terminating in a free edge at 28C. Beneath the ply 24C there is arranged the lower ply 25e of a length of reinforcing material which is folded at 260C to de'ne an upper ply 26C which extends up to the free or upper edge 20c of the rib proper, being interposed between the marginal portions of the plies 21e and 22C, the latter being separate independent lengths of material.

The ply 21C is extended downwardly as shown at 29e and folded at 30C to form the upper ply 31C and the lower ply 32C of a two-ply outer foot or attaching member which extends outwardly toward the peripheral edge F and which, like the inner foot or attaching ply which comprises the parts 24e and 25C, is secured by adhesive or, if preferred, by stitching to the insole blank B.

FIG. 4 illustrates a further arrangement. Like parts in this view are designated by the same numerals as those in FIG. 1, but with the superscript d. The rib of FIG. 4 is substantially like that of FIG. 3, except that the material which constitutes the lower ply 32d of an outer foot or attaching member (comprising the plies 31d and 32d) is separate and independent of the outer ply 21d of the rib proper and has an extension 33d constituting additional reinforcement between the reinforcing ply 26d and the extension 29d of the ply 21d.

FIG. 5 illustrates a construction very similar to that of FIG. l and wherein like parts are designated by the same numerals but with the superscript e. In the arrangement of FIG. 5 the outer ply 21e has an extension 29e whose terminal portion forms the upper ply 31e of a two-ply outer foot or attachment member which extends from the rib proper toward the peripheral edge F of the insole blank, the lower ply of said outer foot 'being designated by the character 32e. This latter ply 32e is of material separate and independent from that which forms the upper ply 31e of the rib proper and itself has an extension 33e constituting a second ply of reinforcement between the extension 29e and the ply 21e and the reinforce element 26e.

FIG. 6 shows another modification very similar to that of FIG. 5 and wherein the same reference numerals designate functionally corresponding parts as used in FIG. l, but with the superscript f. In this arrangement, as in FIG. 1, the lower reinforce ply 25f is a part independent of the plies Zlf and 22]L constituting the outer and inner walls of the rib proper, but in this instance the upper reinforce ply 26f extends all of the way up to the U-bend 20jc where the plies `21f and 22f are united. In this instance the outer ply 2li of the rib proper has an extension 291 which is folded at 30]c to define the upper and lower plies 31;c and 321 of an outer foot or attaching member which extends from the base of the rib toward the peripheral edge F of the insole blank. In this instance the part 33]c provides an outside reinforcement at the base portion of the rib proper so that the rib shall have four plies at that part which receives the inseam stitches. The inner two-ply foot or attaching member is comprised of the plies 24f and 251.

FIG. 7 is substantially identical with the arrangement shown in FIG. 6, the same numerals being employed for designating functionally like parts except that they are provided with the superscript g. The only substantial difference between the arrangement of FIG. 7 and that of FIG. 6 is that in the arrangement of FIG. 7 the material forming the upper ply 31g of an outer foot or attaching member is separate and independent of the outer ply 21g of the rib proper and has an integral extension 33g which overlies the lower portion of the extension 29g of the ply 21g, said extension 29g merging with the lower ply 32g of the outwardly extending foot or attaching member.

In FIG. 8, which is a fragmentary transverse section through a shoe provided with a sewing rib like that of FIG. l, the insole blank is indicated by the character B; the upper by the character U, with its lasting margin M cement-lasted in over the peripheral edge of the insole blank and contacting the outer portion of the sewing rib and secured to the latter by adhesive; the channel C being between the parts 22 and 24 of the sewing rib; and the inseam stitches S passing through the four-'ply base of the sewing rib and through the lasting margin M of the upper and through the inner margin of the welt W. It will be noted that because of the tapering or stepped character of the rib proper, that is to say, the diminishing number of plies from the four which receive the inseam stitches to the two at its free or upper edge 20, the rib is made very flexible so that in completing the shoe it may be flattened down against the bottom of the insole and thus avoid any substantial distortion of the insole by reason of the presence of the rib beneath it.

In the assembly of the tape-like material with the insole blank, the folded material is rst applied flat, that is to say, it is disposed in a plane substantially parallel to the surface of the blank. In accordance with the present invention, the construction is such that after the attachment of the sewing rib has been completed, the rib proper has a normal tendency to incline at an angle of not substantially exceeding 10 to the plane of the insole blank, thus providing access to the channel and so facilitating the entrance of the guide linger of the inseam stitching machine, but during the manufacture of the shoe and because of the flexibility of the tapering rib of the present invention, the inseaming operation itself tends to draw the rib down toward the blank; the subsequent customary rubbing operation further presses the rib down, and during the sole-laying operation it is further flattened, so that the upper surface of the insole, in the completed shoe, is substantially tlat and exhibits no appreciable elevation at the location of the inseam.

By using two plies of anchorage material in the inner and outer attaching feet or abutments there is provided a better opportunity to sew the welt seam beneath the side lasting staples. In the prior art, as exemplied by the patents above cited, there are three plies on the outside of the rib and the outside is higher by two thicknesses of tape as compared with the inside which has only one. By utilizing a construction generally similar to that of the cited patents, but by providing both attaching feet with the same number of plies the rib thickness is equalized and balanced in a horizontal plane and this improves the conditions for the operation of the welt inseaming needle by giving the needle better opportunity to locate just beneath the staples and thereby forming a seam which conceals the staples in the nished shoe. The sewing rib hereby provided is extremely versatile, strong, and has great flexibility and lies approximately at.

All of the several suggested modications are useful in footwear wherein very strong stitching is employed with or rwithout adhesive, but it is to be emphasized that because of the wide areas of anchorage provided by the inner or outer feet of abutments, adhesive alone may be used .without stitching for many types of footwear-it being noted that in all o-f the several modifications twoply feet or abutments are provided, either by doubling a given piece of tape or by the employment of a plurality of tapes.

While certain desirable embodiments of the invention have herein been illustrated and described, it is to be understood that these are namely by way of example, .and the invention is broadly inclusive of any and all modifications falling within the scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

`1. In combination with an insole blank having an upper surface, a tread surface and a peripheral edge, a sewing rib comprising tape disclosed in plies arranged to define the rib proper and multiple-ply attaching feet extending from the base of the rib proper outwardly, respectively, toward the peripheral edge of the insole blank and inwardly, respectively, in the opposite direction, respectively, each of said attaching feet comprising the same number of plies characterized in that the rib proper tapers in thickness, comprising at least four -plies at its base portion which receives the inseam stitches and having a lesser number of .plies in its upper or free edge portion, .the rib proper, when attached to the insole blank, normally tending to lean inwardly away from the peripheral edge at an angle not substantially exceeding 10 to the upper surface of the blank but being so flexible that it is easily depressible into substantial parallelism to the upper surface of the insole .blank in response to customary shoe making operations, and adhesive bonding together juxtaposed constituent plies.

2. The combination according to claim 1, further characterized in that the rib proper comprises outer and inner plies, the inner `ply having an integral extension which is comprised in the inwardly directed attaching foot, and the outer ply having an integral extension which constitutes a ply of the art-taching'foot which extends outwardly toward the peripheral edge, yand a reinforce element disposed between the inner and outer plies of the rib proper.

3. The combination according to claim 1, wherein at its upper edge the rib proper com-prises a U-fold joining the inner and outer plies and in that there is interposed, between the plies of tape which are joined at the U-fold, a reinforcing ply which constitutes an integral extension of one of the plies comprised in the base portion of the rib proper.

`4. The combination according to claim 1, further characterized in that at least one of the several plies, constituting the base portion of the rib proper, terminates short of the upper edge of the rib proper whereby the rib tapers in thickness from its base toward its free edge.

45. The combination according to claim 1, wherein the sewing rib comprises a single, integral length of tape disposed to form plies so arranged as to constitute the rib proper, a two-ply attaching foot extending from the base of the rib proper toward the peripheral edge of the insole blank, a second two-ply attaching foot extending inwardly from the base of the rib proper, and the rib proper including inner and outer plies and a reinforcing element interposed between them.

6. The combination according to claim 5, wherein the upper ply of that attaching foot which extend toward the peripheral edge comprises an integral reinforcing element constituting one of the plies at the base por-tion of a rib proper.

7. A lib according to claim 5, further characterized in that said integral reinforce element is concealed Within the rib proper.

8. The combination according to claim 5, wherein said integral reinforce element is exposed at the outside of the outer ply of the rib proper.

9. The combination according to claim 2, wherein the reinforce element, which is interposed between the outer and inner plies of the rib proper, is a length of material which is independent of the material constituting the inner and outer plies of the rib proper.

10. The combination according to claim 2, wherein the reinforce material, which is interposed between the inner and outer plies of the rib proper, has an integral extension which constitutes one ply of the attaching foot which extends inwardly from the rib proper.

11. The combination according to claim 2, wherein a reinforce element interposed between the inner and outer plies of the rib proper, has an integral extension which constitutes one ply of that attaching foot which extends toward the peripheral edge of the insole blank.

12. An insole comprising, in combination .with a body portion having an upper surface, a tread surface and a peripheral edge, an improved sewing rib comprising tape which, in that part of the ribl which receives the inseam stitches, includes at least four plies of the tape material, two of said plies being at least partially exposed and constituting the inner and outer walls of the rib proper and normally inclining at an angle of vthe order of 10, upwardly and away from the peripheral edge of the insole, said two exposed, inclined plies being so united as to deiine the upper edge of the rib proper, the rib also comprising at least one reinforcing element of flexible material, said rein-forcing element including a ply which is interposed between the aforesaid two exposed plies of the tape at that portion, at least, of the rib which receives the inseam stitches, said ply of reinforicng material being integrally joined, at a fold, to an anchorage portion of the reinforce material which extends inwardly away from the peripheral edge of the insole; is subs-tantially parallel to the upper surface of the body portion of the insole; and is permanently secured to the latter, each of the aforesaid exposed plies, respectively, of the tape lbeing integrally joined, at a fold, to a corresponding, anchorage portion, the anchorage portion of the inner of said exposed plies overlying the inwardly extending anchorage portion of `the `aforesaid reinforcing ply and together with the latter constituting an inner foot or abutment secured to the body of the insole, and the anchorage portion of the outer of the aforesaid exposed plies of tape extending outwardly toward the peripheral edge of the insole, .the rib also comprising a second reinfforcing element so assembled with said outwardly extending anchorage ply as to constitute, with the latter, a multi-ply foot, feather-portion, or abutment, and means permanently securing said foot, feather-po-rtion or abutment to the body of the insole.

13. An isole according to claim 12, further characterized in that the entire rib, including the reinforcing elements, constitute integral portions of a single piece of material.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,737,986 12/1929 Valentine '36*-22 2,391,217 12/1945 Ayers 36-22 2,438,870 3/1948 Ayers 3622 2,623,306 12/1952 Griswold 36-22 2,730,819 1/1956 Foust 36-22 FRANK I. COHEN, Primary Examiner. 

1. IN COMBINATION WITH AN INSOLE BLANK HAVING AN UPPER SURFACE, A TREAD SURFACE AND A SPHERICAL EDGE, A SEWING RIB COMPRISING TAPE DISCLOSED IN PLIES ARRANGED TO DEFINE THE RIB PROPER AND MULTIPLE-PLY ATTACHING FEET EXTENDING FROM THE BASE OF THE RIB PROPER OUTWARDLY, RESPECTIVELY, TOWARD THE PERIPHERAL EDGE OF THE INSOLE BLANK AND INWARDLY, RESPECTIVELY, IN THE OPPOSITE DIRECTION, RESPECTIVELY, EACH OF SAID ATTACHING FEET COMPRISING THE SAME NUMBER OF PLIES CHARACTERIZED IN THAT THE RIB PROPER TAPERS IN THICKNESS, COMPRISING AT LEAST FOUR PLIES AT ITS BASE PORTION WHICH RECEIVES THE INSEAM STITCHES AND HAVING A LESSER NUMBER OF PLIES IN ITS UPPER OR FREE EDGE PORTION, THE RIB PROPER, WHEN ATTACHED TO THE INSOLE BLANK, NORMALLY TENDING TO LEAN INWARDLY AWAY FROM THE PERIPHERAL EDGE AT AN ANGLE NOT SUBSTANTIALLY EXCEEDING 10* TO THE UPPER SURFACE OF THE BLANK BUT BEING SO FLEXIBLE THAT IT IS EASILY DEPRESSIBLE INTO SUBSTANTIALLY PARALLELISM TO THE UPPER SURFACE OF THE INSOLE BLANK IN RESPONSE TO CUSTOMARY SHOE MAKING OPERATIONS, AND ADHESIVE BONDING TOGETHER JUXTAPOSED CONSTITUENT PLIES. 